


Worst-Case Scenarios

by samdil



Category: IT (1990), IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 16:07:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21930142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samdil/pseuds/samdil
Summary: Stan and Richie have both had things for each other for years, but when Stan confesses his feelings Richie freaks out and it leads the both of them to think the worst of their situations.
Relationships: Richie Tozier & Stanley Uris, Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris, Stozier - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 54





	Worst-Case Scenarios

**Author's Note:**

> For the stozier secret santa 2019!  
> Giftee: rhonas-indomitabe on tumblr.  
> Remember to comment and leave kudos if you like it!

Stan was with Beverly in his bedroom, she was sitting on his bed while he was reorganizing his bookshelves, stacking and restacking everything until it was just right, it was a nervous habit, it calmed him down. When everything else was in order, he felt as though he himself were also in order. 

“You know Stan, I could help if you need it.” 

Stan shook his head, “No. You won’t do it right. I have to do it.” 

Beverly nodded her head, understanding Stan had his own ways of dealing with stress, even if she didn’t quite understand how they helped, “So what’s wrong, Stanny? Why are you so stressed out?” 

“Stressed?” Stan asked, turning to face Beverley instead of his shelf. “I’m not stressed at all, what makes you think I’m stressed?” 

Bev shrugged, “I know you, Stan. I know when something’s off with you. So tell me, what’s wrong?”

Stan sighed, walking to his bed before sitting next to Bev, “It’s about Richie.”

“What did he do?” She asked.

“Nothing. He didn’t do anything. He just exists and I hate him for it!” Stan began pulling at his hair, and Bev took his hands reassuringly.

“Well, you can’t exactly stop him from existing, but that’s irrelevant. Isn’t he your best friend?”

“Yes, but he’s not  _ just _ my best friend. I like him, a lot”

Bev gasped, trying to seem shocked, “No way! This is new information!”

Stan rolled his eyes, “Shut up. It’s not funny.”

Bev looked down, “Right. Sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood.”

Stan sighed, “I know, and I’m sorry. I just don’t know what to do.”

“Well, there is an obvious solution. Ask him out.” 

Stan laughed incredulously, and Bev’s jaw dropped, “What’s so funny about that?”

“I can’t just ask him out, Bev. Too much can go wrong.”

“Like what?” She asked.

“Well let me paint you a picture of my worst-case scenario” He replied. 

\---

_ Stan took a deep breath before walking out of his final class and heading to his own locker next to Richie’s. He quickly exchanged any books he would and would not need and he waited for Richie to come from his own class. Stan was shaky, but he was determined to do this. He had to. It was the only way Richie would know how he felt, and after all, Richie deserved to know. _

_ “Hey Stanley the Manley, what’s up?” Richie asked, opening up his locker and putting his books away before taking out the books he would need for the night’s homework. _

_ “Oh not much, can we just talk for a second? It’s kind of important.” Stan said, his heart beating a mile a minute. _

_ “Sure, what is it?” Richie asked, closing his locker and facing his friend.  _

_ “I don’t know how to say this, so I just will. I like you. A lot. And I understand if you don’t feel the same way, but I thought you should know.”  _

_ Richie stared at his friend for a minute before pointing at him and laughing. Within seconds, the whole hallway was laughing, and in minutes, the school. The noise was so loud Stan felt as if the world would explode, and then it did.  _

\----

“So let me get this straight.” Beverley said, “The worst-case scenario, is that everyone laughs so loudly the world explodes?”

“Yes,” Stan said, nodding his head.

“Stan, not only is that ridiculous, but I’m pretty sure it’s straight out of Phineas and Ferb. And even Phineas and Ferb made it a ridiculous worst-case scenario.” 

“Well, Bev, it’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s still a really big fear. I don’t want him to laugh at me. He’s my best friend and I don’t want to make things all fucked up between us.” 

Beverly took her hand from Stan’s and pat his shoulder, “Stan, you won’t fuck things up, and if he makes you feel like that, let me know and I’ll smack some sense into him. You can do this.”

Stan nodded his head and smiled, “Yeah Bev. I got this. Thank you.”

Beverley smiled back, “Anytime Stanny”. 

\----

Well, today was the day. Stan was going to swallow his pride and tell Richie how he feels about him. He could do this, he would do this. Stan went through his day, less focused than usual. He hated that he’s been getting like this over a stupid boy, but Richie was  _ his _ stupid boy, and he couldn’t help letting later in the day occupy his thoughts. He went through his day as normally as he could anyway, pushing through what felt like the longest six hours of his life to see Richie and tell him what he wanted to say for years. When 8th period finally let out he got to his locker as quickly as possible and took care of his books before patiently waiting for Richie to arrive. 

“Guess who, Stanny?” said Richie, covering his shorter friend’s eyes with his hands.

“Is it the cold clammy hands of death?” Stan asked sarcastically.

“My hands are not clammy,” Richie said, feigning offense and taking his hands off Stan before attending to his own locker. 

“Uh, Rich?”

“What is it?”

“Can I tell you something?” Stan said, his face red, looking down to avoid looking at Richie.

“Anything, but you have to look at me. It’s hard to hear when your words are directed to the floor, ya know?” Richie said, smiling playfully at his friend.

Stan sighed and looked up at Richie, “I like you. Like, not as a friend, and I hope things don’t become awkward, but I needed to get it off my chest.” 

Richie’s face was bright red and he was frozen still, Stan looked at him, confused, “Rich? You okay?” 

Richie shook his head, “Yeah. I, I just- I uh...gotta go!” Richie said before running down the hallway and out of the building before he even remembered to close his locker. 

Bev came up to Stan, who was still staring at the door, “How’d it go Stan?”

“He ran off.”

“He what?”

“He. Ran. Off. Thanks for the advice, Bev. Worked out well.” 

“Hey hey, I’m sorry. Let’s run to the diner by my place. We can talk about it there.” 

Stan sighed and nodded, silently following Beverley out of the building. 

\----

Out of breath, Richie rang Bill’s doorbell hoping that Bill could drive faster than Richie could run. 

“Fuck, my car!” Richie screamed out to no one in particular. He got so freaked out that he forgot a car. “How is that even possible?” He asked himself.

“How is what possible?” Bill asked. 

Thank god Bill had gotten home, “Stan said he liked me and I got so freaked out that I ran off and forgot I had a whole ass car to use to get here.” 

Bill sighed, “So what? You want me to drive you back to school to get your-wait what?”

“Stan said he liked me and I got scared and ran!” 

“Fucking hell Rich, why would you do that?”

“I don’t know Bill! I got scared!”

Bill shook his head before stepping aside to let his taller friend in the house before leading him up the stairs to his room where Bill sat and Richie began pacing. 

“So what exactly happened?” Bill asked.

“Okay so I went to my locker right, and Stan was there so I was all like, 'Guess who?’ and he was like ‘The cold clammy hands of death?’ So I was like-” 

“Rich, please” Bill interjected, “Skip to the important part”

“Right.” Richie said, taking a breath, “Basically he told me he liked me and I didn’t know what to do! So I panicked and ran, and now I’m here!” 

“You didn’t know what to do?” Bill asked, “You tell him you feel the same way you absolute nimrod!” Bill says, in that voice that he wants to yell, but knows he shouldn’t because it’ll just upset Richie more. 

“I can’t do that! In fact, I can’t even hang out with him anymore!”

“And why not?”

“Well, you see…”

\----

_ Stan and Richie sat together in the bed of Richie’s pickup truck. The pair had been there the whole night just holding onto the other wrapped up in blankets. They had brought a few beers, finished long ago when they had first arrived, but the smell on their breath still lingered. Not that Richie has been being a total creep the whole night. He definitely would never intentionally sniff his best friend’s breath, but Stan was so close. His shoulder touching Richie’s chest, looking up at him. Whenever he spoke the scent wafted up. Richie was intoxicated by the idea of gently grabbing his friend’s face and just gently kissing him. He couldn’t though. If he was going to kiss his friend he was going to do it sober. He had to, it wouldn’t be fair to Stan, or frankly, himself if their first kiss was some mistake they both made when they were tipsy off of a 6 pack of cheap beer.  _

_ “Richie.” Stan said, lightly hitting his friend’s chest, “Rich, you okay?” _

_ “Hm?” he questioned, coming back to reality, “Yeah I’m okay. Just got lost in thought.”  _

_ “Whatcha thinkin' about?”  _

_ “Just how beautiful everything is out here. It’s quiet, the stars are bright. I could live here.” Richie’s softly smiled. _

_ “I don’t think you could live anywhere this quiet, trash mouth.” Stan chuckled playfully. He was definitely drunker than Richie was. He was smaller and didn’t drink nearly as often. Textbook lightweight, but Richie didn’t mind. Richie thought it was cute, the same way he thought everything Stan did was cute. If you asked Richie, the sun shines out of Stan.  _

_ Richie stared at his best friend, and he took a deep breath before replying, “Maybe I could if I had you with me.”  _

_ Stan stared back, looking at Richie quizzically, “What do you mean?”  _

_ “I just mean I really like you, and I think even I could live out here in nature, with nothing else to entertain me, if I had you.”  _

_ Stan kept staring, his gaze softer now, Richie’s heartbeat so fast he could hear his pulse in his ears, then Stan chuckled, “Kiss me”  _

_ “Huh? Stan, I don’t know if we should. I mean, there’s a lot that can go wrong. What if you wake up tomorrow and you’re like ‘ew why did I do that?’ and then you start avoiding me? I don’t think I want to risk losing you.” _

_ “Well, worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.” _

_ “Huh?” _

_ “Who gives a shit about tomorrow? We can worry when it comes.” _

_ “Stan, since when are you willing to dive into anything without thinking?” _

_ “Since I’ve wanted to kiss you since freshman year. So kiss me before I change my mind.”  _

_ Richie was still staring, hesitant to move. What if this was one of Stan’s weird jokes? That he didn’t really like Richie and when Richie moved and Stan started laughing? Richie was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Stan move so that he was sitting upright facing him.  _

_ “So? Are you gonna kiss me?” Stan asked. _

_ Richie was still hesitant, but moved closer and gently cupped Stan’s face. He moved his face closer to the other boy’s and stopped just before their lips touched, taking a moment let himself believe this was really happening, “You know, I’ve never kissed anyone before” he said, once again pulling away.  _

_ “Neither have I” Stan admitted before pulling Richie in and crashing their lips together. It was awkward and clumsy, but perfect. It was perfect because it was them and it was everything they wanted for years. Maybe Richie wasn’t the best kisser, but he hoped he had a lot of time to practice.  _

_ Just as he was the one to initiate the kiss, Stan was the first to pull away, smiling “You know Rich? That was…” he paused, and Richie smiled hopefully, “horrible.”  _

_ Richie frowned, “Horrible?” _

_ “Yeah. Horrible. Please never speak to me again. Bye.” Stan said, getting out of the bed of the truck and heading home. _

\----

“And THAT, Bill, is why I can’t hang out with Stan anymore,” he said, pacing the floor just as he had been for the last 10 minutes.

“And why is that?” Bill asked, sitting on his bed.

“Because, we’ll be hanging out on a date, and everything will be normal, and it’ll be nice it’ll be just like it always is. BUT THEN! I’ll slip up, and I’ll say something stupid. And I’ll be such a bad kisser that he’ll hate me and never wanna hang out with me again!” 

“Richie, you hang out with Stan all the time. This has never been an issue before. Why is it a problem now?” 

“Because I didn’t like him before!” 

Bill scoffed, “Richie stop with the bullshit. We both know you’ve had a thing for Stan since 8th grade.” 

Richie rolled his eyes, “Fine, but now I know  _ he _ likes  _ me _ , and I’ll fuck it up if I keep hanging out with him! Do you see the problem now?”

“Richie if you haven’t fucked it up yet you never will. UNLESS you let him think you’re uninterested. He won’t wait forever.” 

“So why doesn’t he tell me he likes me?”

“Richie. He did. You freaked out and ran away. Now we’re here. None of which will make you seem even remotely interested in him.”

“But I am!”

“Then tell him that!”

“I can’t!” Richie said, practically yelling. 

Bill rolled his eyes, letting out a long sigh before falling back onto his bed.

“Bill?”

Bill sat back up, “Richie, everyone knows you like him. Just go for it. Clearly he likes you too, but I’ll be honest you really fucked up. Before it gets any worse, I’d go now.” 

Richie nodded, with a new determination he hadn’t had before, “You’re right Bill. Now if you excuse me, I have to go win my boyfriend back.” he said, running down Bill’s stairs and out the door

“He’s not your boyfriend!” Bill yelled from the top of the stairs.

“Not YET he’s not!’ Richie replied, once again running, but this time to Stan. 

\----

“Bev, this is EXACTLY why I didn’t want to tell Richie I liked him. This is even worse than what I thought would happen.” Stan said, sitting across from Beverely in the greasy diner. 

“You think this is worse than your worst-case scenario of ‘he laughs so hard the entire earth blows up’?” 

“That was an exaggeration of my fears and you know it.” He said, twiddling his thumbs, trying to avoid biting his fingernails from nervousness. 

“Okay fine. So you think Richie turning bright red, and running away, clearly freaked out, is worse than him laughing at you?” She asked before taking a sip of her coke. 

“It is, because if he laughed at least I’d know it was ridiculous right? I’d  _ know _ I had no shot. Now I have no idea. Did he run away because he didn’t want to hurt my feelings? Did he run away because he just didn’t know how to deal with his feelings?”

“Ding ding ding! It’s the second one.”

“How do you know?”

“Without throwing Richie under the bus, I know for a fact he likes you. You don’t listen to the boy talk about you for two minutes without figuring it out.” 

Stan turned his head, like a curious puppy at a new noise, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he once compared your eyes to, and I quote, “the prettiest rocks I’ve ever seen”

Stan chuckled, “He doesn’t have much of a way with words, does he?”

“No. Which is why he ran away from you.” 

Stanley nodded, “So what do I do? Let him come to me? Go after him? I feel like I should give him space, right?” he looked at Bev, practically begging for an answer.

She shrugged in response, “How am I supposed to know, Uris? He’s your boyfriend.”

“Not my boyfriend” Stan corrected.

“Not yet,” replied Bev, smiling at her friend who finally seemed to have calmed down. 

\---- 

When Richie arrived at Stan’s house he wasn’t there, and Richie isn’t sure if he was grateful for this or not. On one hand, he has time to catch his breath and find the perfect way to tell his best friend how he feels. On the other hand, he has time to think about all the ways he can and probably will fuck this up for himself. He was trying his best to stay positive, but it was proving difficult. Especially when Beverley drops Stanley off in front of his house and suddenly Richie’s hour of practicing what he was going to say felt like a minute if that. 

“Richie, what are you doing here?” Stan asked, trying to remain calm in case Bev was wrong about Richie’s feelings.

“I came to apologize about before.” He replied, sheepishly scratching at the back of his head.

“Rich, there’s no need to apologize. If you don’t feel the same way then I’m okay with that I just-”

“But that’s the thing Staniel! I do feel the same way! I’ve liked you for years, I just never thought you liked me!” 

“So when you got confirmation that I did in fact, like you, you ran away?”

Richie sighed, “Yeah. It wasn’t my proudest moment. The thing is though, I’m scared too. You’ve been my best friend for as long as I can remember. God forbid something happens and I lose you? I don’t know what I’d do without my best friend. I love you Stanny, you’re important to me. Not even just romantically.” 

Stan sighed and smiled, “I was worried about that too, but if it helps,” he said, stepping closer and grabbing Richie’s hand, “I feel a lot better knowing that if something happens, neither of us are willing to throw away our friendship.” 

Richie smiled softly, “Right. You’re right. So, does this mean we’re dating?”

“Does it?”

“Not yet,” Richie said, his soft smile becoming flirtatious. 

Stan’s face mirrored Richie’s own, “And why is that?” he asked.

“I still haven’t kissed you,” he said, pulling Stan close to him and gently pressing his lips to his friend’s. It was soft and tender and definitely not how Stan would’ve pictured kissing Richie for the first time, but it was everything Richie had imagined and more. 

Richie pulled away first, still holding onto Stan, “How was that for my first try?”

“You could use more practice, but don’t worry. So can I.” Stan replied, his smile stretching ear to ear, his eyes crinkled in the corners before pulling Richie in for another kiss. 


End file.
